From Taylor Swift concerts to Michelin meals, an expats' guide to Asia-Pacific hubs

Tokyo came out on top of 10 metrics including potential salary increase, rent, personal taxes and education costs. The Japanese capital boasts relatively low international school fees and steady rents — plus residents can buy a Tesla Model Y Performance for about $50,000.

By Kevin Varley and Ainsley Thomson

Considering relocating in the new year? Here’s how five of Asia Pacific’s biggest financial hubs stack up when it comes to cost of living. 

Tokyo came out on top in a Bloomberg analysis of 10 metrics including potential salary increase, rent, personal taxes and education costs. The Japanese capital boasts relatively low international school fees and steady rents — plus residents can buy a Tesla Model Y Performance for about $50,000.

Hong Kong, which has suffered an expat exodus since the pandemic, came in second place followed by Shanghai and Sydney. Singapore, recently named the world’s most expensive city following an influx of foreign workers, trailed in fifth place. 

1. Tokyo
Finance manager’s annual pay: $98,094 (based on Michael Page 2023 projections)

Michelin-starred restaurants: 183

Taylor Swift, Coldplay concerts: Yes

Many living costs in the Japanese capital are lower than other financial hubs in the regions. Foodies will also appreciate that Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than the other cities.  

Credit: Bloomberg Photo

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is rolling out the red carpet for global high earners including a fast-track to permanent residency.  So perhaps it’s no surprise that the city’s foreign worker population has risen in recent years.

Johanna Chomel moved to Tokyo from Paris with her husband and three children a year ago after accepting a transfer with her German-headquartered employer, Henkel AG. 

“Japan is very clean, the pollution level is really low, which was important because my youngest one was only two when we arrived,” she said. “People are really respectful, and that’s a great value that we wanted for the kids.”

However, language has been a barrier for Chomel and her husband. He hasn’t yet found a job in Tokyo and consults for Asian clients outside Japan. 

The city also has a comparatively high income tax rate.

2.  Hong Kong

Finance manager’s annual pay:  $92,307

Michelin-starred restaurants: 78

Taylor Swift-Coldplay concerts: No

Hong Kong’s appeal has taken a knock since the pandemic. China’s ever-tightening control and strict Covid measures resulted in international companies looking to place fewer people there, said Esther Colwill, recruitment firm Korn Ferry’s APAC president.

While geopolitics has put some potential residents off, Hong Kong offers the lowest personal income tax rate and biggest expected pay bump among the five cities. That means more take-home pay.

The government is keen to revive the city’s status as an international financial hub. Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, has taken action including slashing levies for foreigners buying homes and launching a visa plan for high-income workers. China’s policymakers this month convened bankers in Hong Kong to seek ways to bolster confidence. “I see a very loyal base of existing expats that live there, that love Hong Kong, that have been through the tough times in Covid and they really want to stay,” said Colwill. “For new expats there's less demand pull — there's less companies saying we need expats out there. There’s just too much uncertainty around the geopolitics and frankly the future of Hong Kong.”

Credit: Bloomberg Photo

3. Shanghai

Finance manager’s annual pay: $53,439

Michelin-starred restaurants: 51 

Taylor Swift-Coldplay concerts: No

Many expats left Shanghai as a result of its strict Covid Zero policies during the pandemic. China’s economic uncertainty and geopolitical headwinds also prompted some companies to pull money out of the country. To woo foreign capital, President Xi Jinping promised “heart-warming” steps to improve the business environment, including visa-free access to China for six countries. 

Michele Aboro and Frank Tsai are among those who chose to stay put.

“Covid was pretty hard and we had to close for some time, but we have a dynamic community of people who were really behind us and we survived and succeeded,” said Aboro, a former professional boxer from the UK who runs a gym in the city.

Tsai, who hails from the US and is the founder of consulting firm China Crossroads, said the foreigner exodus has been exaggerated. “For much of the 2010s, Shanghai was seen as ‘sexy and global’ so foreigners, of course, flocked here,” he said.  Now, “there are fewer foreigners, but it still feels like the same city, with the same energy and dynamism.”

In Shanghai’s favor: Cost-of-living expenses from rents to dining to medical services have declined and there’s nowhere better to purchase a Tesla Model Y Performance in our rankings. But international school fees have gone up and the city has a relatively high tax rate.

4. Sydney

Finance and accounting plant manager’s annual pay: $114,189

Chef Hat restaurants: 141 

Taylor Swift-Coldplay concerts: Yes

Geographically removed from the region’s other financial centers, Sydney offered the lowest salary bump for professionals in early 2023, coupled with relatively high taxes. 

But Korn Ferry’s Colwill said Sydney was becoming increasingly popular, thanks to an appealing lifestyle and having English as the majority language. 

“The cost of living is high, but it’s balanced by the fact that kids actually could just go to very good public schools,” she said. The downside to Sydney was the tax regime and the challenges of getting a visa, she added.

While Sydney doesn’t have a Michelin guide, it does have lots of choice dining options: 141 restaurants boast the local mark of fine dining, a Chef Hat award.

5. Singapore

Finance manager’s annual pay: $84,109

Michelin-starred restaurants: 55

Taylor Swift-Coldplay concerts: Yes

With its low tax rates and reputation for safety, Singapore — where foreign residents make up about 30 per cent of the population — has attracted the wealthy in droves since the pandemic. Prices have soared as a result. 

The city-state is the most expensive place in the world to own a car, and putting a Tesla on the road now costs well above $200,000. It’s getting pricier to rent a home in Singapore too. The island is second behind Lisbon in terms of global prime rental growth. 

Difficulty in finding reasonably priced accommodation and getting children into private schools was putting some people off the city-state, said Korn Ferry’s Colwill. In addition, tight visa requirements mean Singapore can’t absorb everyone looking to relocate there.

Still, Pamela Mar, a Hong Kong citizen who relocated to Singapore in September last year, said she had no qualms about the move because she sees the city-state as a place that’s global and invests in its future. 

“Hong Kong talks a really good line, but the Singapore approach is really complete,” she said. “People don’t move to a place because it’s cheaper. They move to where the opportunity is and where like-minded people are.”

Credit: Bloomberg Photo

Methodology

Bloomberg Economic Data uses ten cost-of-living metrics to compare financial hubs preferred by expats in Asia.

1) Salary Bump: Michael Page’s average salary increase when switching jobs for mid-level positions in Banking & Financial Services and Technology per hub. Sydney and Tokyo data taken from country-level figures. Michael Page data broken out for Financial Services for Singapore, Banking and Financial Services for Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Finance and Accounting for Australia.

2) Rent Price Inflation: calculates the average year-over-year increase in rental costs in the third quarter. Hong Kong: we calculate year-over-year change to the monthly rental price index published by the hub’s Rating and Valuation Department and average it per the three months of the quarter. Shanghai: three-month average of Centaline Property Agency’ s year-over-year rental increases which are published monthly. Singapore: year-over year change to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s quarterly rental index. Sydney: three-month average of CoreLogic Inc.’s annual change in dwelling value for Sydney. Tokyo: third quarter year-over-year increase of rents as reported by Savills Plc.

3) Residential Sales Price: calculates the average price of sales during the third quarter using third quarter currency conversions. Hong Kong: third quarter average of the Land Registry’s monthly data for primary and secondary sales, converted into USD by month. Shanghai: third quarter average of monthly residential sales prices provided by the China Real Estate Information Corp. Per square meter values are normalized using average flat size of 59 sqm as published by the Urban Land Institute. Singapore: median sale price of apartment and condominiums transacted during the third quarter as provided by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Sydney: third quarter average of CoreLogic’s monthly median home sales value. Tokyo: the third quarter average of the Real Estate Economic Institute’s value of new condos sold per month.

4) Residential Sales Price Increase: calculates the year-over-year change to home sales prices during the third quarter. Hong Kong: Land Registry monthly property price index of private domestic units is averaged out for third quarter year-on-year values. Shanghai: National Bureau of Statistics of China monthly data is averaged out for third quarter year-on-year values. Singapore: URA quarterly sales index is calculated year-over-year. Sydney: CoreLogic’s monthly year-over-year values for Sydney property sales are averaged for the quarter. Tokyo: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s monthly values for year-over-year change in property prices are averaged per quarter.

5) Taxes: uses the midpoint of the tax bracket for a $120,000 salary per locale. Sources used include Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, HSBC Holdings Plc, KPMG, IRD and Australian Taxation Office data.

6) International School Fees: uses the median cost from the International Schools Database for 2022. Sydney data is calculated from the average tuition for six international schools researched by Bloomberg.

7) Food Away from Home: for Singapore, we average the third quarter year-over-year values from Singapore Department of Statistics CPI for Restaurant Food. Hong Kong government CPI for meals and takeaway food is averaged for third quarter. Japan’s e-Stat database is mined for Tokyo’s third quarter average of meals outside the home. Australian Bureau of Statistics Capital City CPI data is used for third quarter annual increase in Restaurants. Data is not available for Shanghai, in chart we use the change in third-quarter overall CPI as reported by the Shanghai Municipal  Bureau of Statistics.

8) Tesla Y Performance Model: Tesla Inc. website is used per country to determine cost of purchasing car, for Singapore this includes Certificate of Entitlement fees. Ranking Dec. 18 values and currency conversions.

9) Medical Services: we calculate the average year-over-year increase in medical costs using the same national and regional statistical agencies in Food Away from Home. 

10)  CPI Forecast for 2024 uses Bloomberg survey data of analyst predictions for overall inflation by year. 2023 totals are subtracted from 2024 on a percentage point basis. Ranking uses December 18 values.